Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Loneliness

Bridget Phillipson: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what recent assessment she has made of the effectiveness of the Government’s loneliness strategy in helping to tackle loneliness.

Oliver Dowden: Government is committed to understanding the impact of its activity on loneliness and will use this insight to inform future decision-making. The 60 commitments made in the loneliness strategy vary widely and so learning is captured in different ways. Many of these commitments are still in progress and findings will emerge over time. For example, an independent evaluation of the £11.5m Building Connections Fund is underway, and findings will be published from mid-2020 onwards.The first annual report on government’s work on tackling loneliness was published on 20th January 2020. It highlighted the progress made so far, including action by frontline workers across the public sector to recognise and act on loneliness, the launch of the Let’s Talk Loneliness campaign, the commitment to include measures in the Public Health Outcomes Framework so we can understand local rates of loneliness, and the announcement of an additional £2m of grant-funding to help frontline grassroots organisations that bring people together.

Bus Services: Rural Areas

Marion Fellows: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport, what steps he is taking to increase the availability of broadband for smart ticket machines on buses in the rural areas of (a) Scotland, (b) England, (c) Wales and (d) Northern Ireland.

Matt Warman: Department for Transport statistics show that in March 2019, 92% of buses in England outside London were enabled for smart ticketing and 72% offered contactless payment. The Department for Transport offers bus operators in England outside London an additional incentive to implement smart ticketing through the Bus Service Operators Grant. Policy on bus services in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland is a devolved matter. The Government announced in-principle support in October 2019 for the Mobile Network Operators’ (MNOs) Shared Rural Network (SRN) proposal. The proposal would share investment costs between the mobile network operators and government and increase 4G mobile coverage throughout the United Kingdom to 95% by 2025, with the biggest improvements seen in the devolved nations. It will be underpinned by a legally binding coverage commitment from each operator. The Government's in-principle support is subject to detailed negotiations. While this is not yet a done deal, the Prime Minister has made improvements to rural mobile coverage part of his first 100 days pledge. I will continue to work with the sector to make that happen.Smart ticketing is dependent on good mobile coverage, so improvements in geographic coverage, including on major roads will facilitate the option for bus companies to provide smart ticket machines on buses in the rural areas of each nation of the UK, if they choose to do so. This Government is committed to improving digital connectivity overall. It has committed to investing £5bn to improve broadband connections in the hardest to reach areas of the UK.

Ministry of Justice

Reoffenders: Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the highest number of previous convictions was for a (a) man and (b) woman convicted of a further offence in each of the last three years who was not given a sentence of immediate custody; and what the sentence was for the most recent offence in each case.

Lucy Frazer: Data on the highest number of previous cautions and convictions for (a) a man and (b) a woman convicted and given a sentence other than immediate custody, and the sentence given for their most recent offence, year ending March 2017 to year ending March 2019, can be viewed in the attached table.Sentencing is a matter for our independent courts, who take into account all circumstances of the case, including any aggravating and mitigating factors. We are clear that sentencing must match the severity of a crime. 



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 20.75 KB)

Driving: Disqualification

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, what the highest number of previous offences was for driving when disqualified for a person convicted of a further driving when disqualified offence in each of the last three years; how many of those people were not given a sentence of immediate custody; and what the sentence was for the most recent such offence in each such case.

Lucy Frazer: Data on the highest number of previous cautions and convictions for driving when disqualified for a person convicted of a further driving when disqualified offence; how many people convicted of a further driving when disqualified offence were not given a sentence of immediate custody; and what the sentence was for their most recent such offence, year ending March 2017 to year ending March 2019, can be viewed in the attached table. 



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 26.33 KB)

Young Offenders: Sentencing

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of young offenders previously sentenced to (a) up to five, (b) from five to 10 and (c) more than 10 Youth Rehabilitation Orders (YRO) were sentenced to another YRO for a further offence in the most recent year for which information is available; and for which offence that further YRO was given in each such case.

Lucy Frazer: The information requested could only be obtained at disproportionate cost.

Young Offenders: Reoffenders

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of cases of 16 and 17 year olds being convicted of committing a second or subsequent knife offence resulted in the perpetrator receiving the mandatory four months Detention and Training Order in each of the last three years.

Philip Davies: To ask the Secretary of State for Justice, how many and what proportion of cases in adult courts of those being convicted of committing a second or subsequent knife offence resulted in the perpetrator receiving the mandatory six months imprisonment in each of the last three years.

Lucy Frazer: Data on the number and proportion of cases of 16 and 17 year olds and adults being convicted of committing a second or subsequent knife offences who received a 4 months detention and training order and the mandatory six months imprisonment can be viewed in the attached table.



Table
(Excel SpreadSheet, 20.23 KB)

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

Occupied Territories: Demolition

James Murray: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent assessment his Department has made of trends in the (a) number and (b) frequency of (i) demolitions of Palestinian homes and structures and (ii) forced displacement of Palestinians in the Occupied Palestinian Territories.

James Cleverly: As we made clear in our statement at the UN Security Council on 21 January, we are deeply concerned by the increase in demolitions of Palestinian property by the Israeli authorities. Demolitions and evictions of Palestinians from their homes cause unnecessary suffering to ordinary Palestinians; call into question Israel's commitment to a viable two-state solution; and, in all but the most exceptional of cases, are contrary to International Humanitarian Law. Officials from our Embassy in Tel Aviv have repeatedly made clear to the Israeli authorities our serious concern at the increase in demolitions of Palestinian properties in Area C of the West Bank and in East Jerusalem, most recently on 17 December 2019. We will continue to call for Israel to abandon demolition plans entirely, and instead provide a clear, transparent route to construction for Palestinians in Area C.

Anoosheh Ashoori

Janet Daby: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent representations he has made to his Iranian counterpart on the jailed British national Anoosheh Ashoori.

James Cleverly: The Foreign Secretary raised his concerns about dual national detentions with Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif on 6 January. The Prime Minister raised his concerns with Iranian President Rouhani on 9 January. The former Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Dr Murrison, raised dual-national cases with the Iranian ambassador on 13 January. We remain extremely concerned about the welfare of all British-Iranian dual nationals detained in Iran, including Mr Anoosheh Ashoori. We have made clear to Iran that we expect them to ensure he is treated humanely and in line with international standards. We are committed to ensuring that we do everything we can, including continuing to press the Iranian authorities for consular access.

Anoosheh Ashoori

Janet Daby: To ask the Prime Minister, what plans he has to meet the family of Anoosheh Ashoori to discuss progress the Government has made on securing the release of that person from prison in Iran; and if he will make a statement.

James Cleverly: The Government remains extremely concerned about the welfare of British-Iranian dual nationals detained in Iran, including Anoosheh Ashoori. Iran does not recognize dual nationality and therefore does not permit access to British-Iranian detainees. We are committed to ensuring that we do everything we can, including continuing to press the Iranian authorities for consular access to ensure that they are treated in accordance with international standards and that their welfare needs are met.The Foreign Secretary raised his concerns over dual nationals most recently in his call with Foreign Minister Zarif on 9 January. The Prime Minister also raised his concerns in a recent telephone call with President Rouhani. The former Minister for the Middle East and North Africa, Dr Murrison, raised dual-national cases with the Iranian Ambassador on 13 January.

Middle East: Peace Negotiations

Jim Shannon: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, what recent discussions he has had with his Israeli counterpart on the US Administration's Middle East peace plan proposal.

James Cleverly: The Prime Minister discussed the United States' proposal with Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, on 6 February. The former Minister for the Middle East and North Africa also met with the Israeli Ambassador to the UK, Mark Regev, on 4 February. They discussed a range of issues, including the US proposal.

Somalia and Somaliland: Travel Information

Dr Matthew Offord: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, if he will decouple Somalia from Somaliland in relation to his foreign travel advice.

James Duddridge: Travel advice takes account of local/regional differences and is kept regularly under review. As the UK does not recognise Somaliland as an independent state, it is presented as part of the travel advice for Somalia.

Coronavirus

Andrew Rosindell: To ask the Secretary of State for Foreign and Commonwealth Affairs, whether he has met (a) the Commonwealth Secretariat and (b) other Commonwealth institutions to discuss health system strengthening as a response to the recent outbreak of coronavirus.

Nigel Adams: The Secretary of State has not met with the Commonwealth Secretariat or affiliated institutions on this matter. However, the UK recognises that strong health systems are vital to ensuring health security and we support the Commonwealth's ambition to move towards achieving Universal Health Coverage, enabling countries to prevent, detect and respond to global outbreaks like Coronavirus. Commonwealth Health Ministers will next meet in the margins of the World Health Assembly to discuss a range of health matters, including Universal Healthcare Coverage. Separately, the UK is providing £5 million to the World Health Organisation (WHO) to help prevent the spread of this outbreak by helping rapidly identify and care for patients with symptoms, as well as £40 million for research into the virus.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Waste: Landfill

Ian Lavery: To ask the Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, what estimate her Department has made of the amount of commercial recycling waste that went to landfill in each of the last 10 years.

Rebecca Pow: The information requested is not available. It is not specifically collected from the commercial sector and cannot be routinely or reliably estimated from other available data.